The present invention relates generally to generators of electrical pulses and more particularly to the type of pulse generator which operates on the principle of the transient reversal of voltages in alternate units of series connected systems.
Pulse generators operating on the principle of vector inversion have been described in a printed publication entitled "Novel Principle of Transient High Voltage Generation", by R.A. Fitch, et al. which appeared in the April, 1964, issue of the Proceedings of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, Volume 111, No. 4, at pages 849-855, inclusive, and also in U.S. Pat. No. 3,289,015, entitled "Pulse Generator", R.A. Fitch, et al., which issued on Nov. 29, 1966.
In such apparatus where a voltage V is initially applied to the spiral at one end, the subsequent closure of a spark gap switch at the other end will cause a transient voltage to be developed of 2nV, where n is the number of turns in the spiral. As noted in these references, the pulse shape produced is inherently triangular in nature, with a total pulsewidth of 2 nT, where T is the propagation time for a single turn.
Many applications require nanosecond pulses with a fast rise time and a flat top, i.e. a square wave rather than a triangular wave. Whereas the referenced prior art also directs its attention to means for providing faster risetimes, the present invention is directed to yet a further improvement in such apparatus for developing a square shaped output pulse.